This invention relates to a fishing jigger, more especially a jigger effective to jig or jerk a fish lure or bait back and forth in the water.
In one popular form of fishing, especially recreational or sport fishing, a fishing rod is employed having a fishing line extending downwardly into a body of water inhabited by fish, with a lure or bait on such line to attract the fish, and a fish hook associated with such lure or bait to hook a fish attempting to swallow the lure or bait.
In order to ensure that the fishing line extends downwardly, deeply into the body of water, a down-rigger is employed having a down-rigger rod and a long retaining line with a weight known in the art as a cannon ball, on its distal end to hold the retaining line generally vertically in the water. The fishing line is releasably connected to the retaining line a short distance from the lure or bait whereby the lure is held at a desired depth in the body of water corresponding generally to the point of releasable attachment to the retaining line.
When a fish is hooked, the frantic activity of the fish produces the necessary pulling force to release the fishing line from the retaining line and the fishing line can be wound in and the fish removed.
It is recognized in the fishing art that some fish are especially attracted by a moving lure or bait. Various fishing lures have been proposed having moving parts in an attempt to attract fish. U.S. Pat. No. 2,788,603, L. J. Lindemann, issued Apr. 16, 1957, teaches a lure having a movable tail and gills when drawn through the water. U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,935, C. C. Jordan, issued Sept. 20, 1960, teaches a lure in which a water wheel engages a cam mechanism to impart motion to wing elements whereby an insect or other natural prey of a fish is simulated. U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,495, J. M. Kneece, issued Aug. 1, 1950, teaches a lure having a paddle wheel rotor to move simulated fish eyes. U.S. Pat. No. 2,542,622, B. F. Bordner, issued Feb. 20, 1951, teaches a fish lure with side elements rotated by a paddle wheel to disturb the water.
Lures having actuating mechanisms to produce movement are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,698, M. I. Glass et al, issued Feb. 19, 1963; U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,350, W. C. England, issued Aug. 10, 1976; U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,985, R. J. Caviness, issued Aug. 27, 1985; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,464, J. F. De Berry, issued Sept. 9, 1969.
None of these prior patents is concerned with a fishing jigger for jigging the lure, rather they are concerned with the lure itself and effecting movement of parts of the lure.
Furthermore, a particular disadvantage of the prior lures is that the relatively complex structures must be sufficiently hardy to withstand damage which might result from the thrashing of the hooked fish, so that the lure can be used repeatedly, or the relatively complex structures must be disposable rendering them costly and uneconomic.